


Revitalized

by ivarara



Series: other hk writing [11]
Category: Hollow Knight (Video Games)
Genre: i just needed to write some fluff to cheer myself up and what better way to do it, than to let thk have some fun
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-19
Updated: 2020-11-19
Packaged: 2021-03-10 02:48:09
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,084
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27636377
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ivarara/pseuds/ivarara
Summary: Hornet takes the Knight and Ghost to Greenpath.
Series: other hk writing [11]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1558498
Comments: 8
Kudos: 57





	Revitalized

**Author's Note:**

> i rushed this out in like 2 hours please be merciful

Hornet leads them through the Crossroads briskly. The muggy and gray space drips with water leaking from Dirtmouth, with vines and moss clinging to abandoned wagons and structures throughout. Their footsteps echo ambiently, reverberating off stone walls and tunneled dirt.

The Knight has to stoop over to fit through the rather short passageways. They are quickly learning that the walkways of the Kingdom were built with citizens’ sizes in mind; most certainly not planning for full-sized vessels to pass through them. Hornet seems to hardly mind it, given that her stature means she only fills the tunnel’s height around halfway. Ghost, being even smaller, has no such worries. Instead, the smaller vessel leads Hollow by the hand, not understanding why their older sibling is so much slower than them. 

“Ghost, ease up on them,” Hornet presses. “They are still recovering.”

Ghost looks to her curiously, then turns back to the Knight, eyes wide and imploring. Despite reasoning, Hollow feels guilt gnaw at their mind. Hornet seems to catch wind of it, quickly working to snuff it out for them.

“Hollow, it is not your fault,” she assures. One claw reaches up to cup the side of their mask gently. “You cannot control yourself in that way.”

Instinctively, the Knight nuzzles into the touch, eyes slitting closed happily. Hornet makes it a point to lightly rasp the tips of her claws against the chitin of the mask, making them purr deeply.

“But!” She stands straight once more, retracting her hand. “I said I was going to show you Greenpath today, and I meant it. Come along.” With that, she spins on her heel and heads back along the path.

Hollow hesitates a moment, lamenting the loss of touch, but Ghost is quick to intervene, once again grasping their limp hand and dragging them along with all their might. The Knight makes a show out of being pulled, fumbling on their feet exaggeratedly. Ghost beams an unseen smile up at them, and they warmly smile back.

By now, Hornet has gained a short distance on them. The two of them look up ahead at her, as she seems unaware of how much of a lead she has. Hollow looks back down to Ghost. Carefully, they lower their height until they are near prone on the ground. Ghost looks at them questioningly, but quickly catches on to what they are implying once they nod their great horns once and pat the space between them with their remaining hand. In a flurry, Ghost is clambering up onto their back, scrabbling for purchase against their neck and hefting their small body up onto the Knight’s mask. 

Now perched neatly between the two horns, Ghost wraps their legs snugly around Hollow’s neck, their tiny hands grabbing on to the mask itself. Excitedly, they wriggle in place, eager to move.

The Knight gingerly rises back to their feet and begins to plod after Hornet. By now, she has noticed them trailing, and has stopped to wait for them. 

“Ghost never walks on their own anymore,” she huffs, crossing her arms sternly. “They’re always pestering to be picked up and carried. I see you are not immune to their begging eyes either.”

Hollow smirks back down at her, nodding. 

Again, Hornet huffs, albeit light and playfully. “You are only encouraging their habits,” she scorns. 

Hollow meets her gaze, tilts their head, and shrugs.

Exasperated, she turns around and points further ahead. “Greenpath is just ahead. Come.”

The Knight lumbers after her, noting that the bleak, gray-purple lighting of the Crossroads is quickly growing brighter. At their feet, they notice a clump of green. They stop in their tracks, hunkering down to investigate. Ghost holds on tight as they reach over to poke the greens.

“Oh!” Hornet seems to remember. “You haven’t seen plants in quite a while, correct?”

The Knight nods.

“Greenpath is luscious and overflowing with them,” she describes. “All flourishing with color and life. You will enjoy it, I am sure.” She pads over to reach for the clump of grass herself, grabbing a fistful and pulling. The Knight recoils as the stems snap in her grasp, eyes widening. She holds the handful out to them, ruffling the tips with her other hand. “See? It’s quite soft.”

Gingerly, Hollow moves their hand to delicately grasp one of the blades between their claws. It hangs limply from their clawtips, drooping towards the ground. Worriedly, they try to prop it back up.

“It will die, yes,” Hornet explains. “But they always grow back. The plants here are very persistent. No need to worry.” She throws a reassuring smile to them. When Hollow still looks unsure, she plucks one of the blades from her other hand and uses it to lightly rasp it along Hollow’s exposed arm.

Hollow shudders, then shakes themself off in a daze. They look incredulously at Hornet, questioning what she had done.

A giggle escapes her, breaking her hardened demeanor. “It tickles, yes?” Next, she reaches up to run the blade along one of Ghost’s feet where they are wrapped around Hollow’s neck, making them wriggle once more. “A strange sensation for you, unfortunately.” She sounds remorseful, lamenting the fact that for so long, the Knight has only felt pain and agony where they were bound with chains.

Hollow notices her change of mood, slight as it is, and quickly moves to change it. The blade in their hand now becomes a small instrument of torture as it tickles Hornet along her mask and neck, making her recoil and fluff herself out intimidatingly. 

“You stop that!” she huffs, though there is a smile in her voice. The Knight throws a cheeky smirk back at her, making Ghost wiggle once more as they encourage their oldest sibling.

Hornet dodges out of the way of Hollow’s next attempt nimbly, darting away in the blink of an eye. Insistently, Ghost pats their sibling’s mask, indicating that they would like to be put down. The Knight complies, kneeling down again and carefully picking Ghost up and settling them on the grassy, soft floor. Instantly, Ghost is chasing after Hornet themself, short legs working overtime to get to her. Hornet laughs at the furious scrabbling of the vessel, standing still and changing her stance to one of offense. Ghost skitters up to her, though they are quickly picked up and held away from her and far off the ground.

“You, I can handle, Little Ghost,” she purrs. “All I have to do to defeat you is keep you off the ground and at arm’s length.” Ghost continues wiggling happily, patting their hands on Hornet’s arms rapidly. “But that is beside the point. We are almost there.” She hefts Ghost in her arms securely and sets off again.

The Knight trails after her, watching as the foliage grows lusher and fuller around them. Hornet sets Ghost down, where they then pad over to a small bush, filled with surprisingly colorful flowers. The Knight lumbers over after them, using their fingers to delicately poke at the fragile purple petals.

“You likely have not seen much color in recent times, hm?” Hornet mourns. “We can change that.” 

Ghost sets to work picking the flowers off the bush, filling their little arms with a bundle. When they deem they have gathered enough, they trot over to Hollow, holding their treasure out to them. Hollow grasps the bundle, turning them in their hand and investigating curiously. Ghost is quick to distract them, tugging at the Knight’s cloak to urge them to follow. 

Hornet has wandered a short way up the path, where she stands next to another bush of flowers, this time a vibrant blue. It reminds the Knight of the Lifeblood butterflies they had seen in their youth, something they associated with safety and vitality. Ghost picks a few of the blooms off the bush and hands them to the Knight again. 

“Ghost, I said you could pick _a few_ flowers to put in a vase,” Hornet scolds lightly. “I am not sure if all of these are going to fit into just one.”

Ghost pays her no mind, scampering off to the next bunch of flowers. The Knight looks down to Hornet, and holds up two claws.

“Two vases?”

A nod.

“I suppose I could do that.” She turns to Ghost again. “I will likely have to, at this point.”

Hollow beams a bright smile at her. 

Ghost comes back with deep red flowers now, the petals elongated into slender shapes. They are a stark contrast to the blue and purple of what they have already gathered, drawing Hollow’s eyes to them. 

“The real thing we have to look out for here is Ghost trying to bring other creatures home,” Hornet sighs. “Especially mosscreeps.”

The Knight tilts their head curiously at her.

“Little things disguised as bushes,” she explains. “Here-- let me see if I can locate one.” She turns to the thick foliage behind her, running her hands through it in a flurry. Something stirs in her wake, rustling the leaves as a pair of eyes open. “Ah, here’s one.”

The little creature lets out a soft mrrp! as it emerges, slowly wandering out onto the path. It looks up at Hollow, meeting their eyes. The Knight moves to run a claw through the thick leaves upon the creature’s body, making it purr once more. 

“Harmless little things,” Hornet elaborates. “More of a tripping hazard than anything.”

The mosscreep turns back to the wall of greenery, wriggling its way back inside where it is safely hidden.

“Fortunately, Ghost did not see it,” she chuckles. “Otherwise they’d try to coerce us into bringing it home.”

As if on cue, Ghost reappears, their stubby arms filled with pink, yellow, and green flowers once more. They all easily fit into the Knight’s hand.

“There is a bench not far ahead, if you would like to rest.” Hornet points to where she is speaking of. “Ghost, there are likely maskflies there, too.”

Ghost straightens, practically vibrating with excitement. Hornet hums once, leading the others towards the rest area.

True to her word, there are small maskflies perched on the bench’s metal back. They appear to be dozing off, but wake when the three approach. Some flit away to land on branches overhead, while others are braver and stay put. Ghost holds out one tiny hand once they are all seated. The Knight peers at them, trying to figure out what they are attempting. The answer is soon revealed when a maskfly lands neatly on their hand, ruffling its wings as it sits. Ghost looks to Hornet and Hollow proudly.

“Ghost has quite a way with them. I suspect it’s because they like to sneak off and feed them when I am not looking.”

They sit at the bench for a short while, the maskflies growing braver and bolder as they land closer and closer to the trio. One lands on one of Hollow’s horns, making it tickle. They resist the urge to shake their head, instead sitting perfectly still and letting the small thing take its time. Soon, the small fliers are perched on every point of Hollow’s body: the tips of the two horns on their mask, the smooth space between them, even on the Knight’s cloaked shoulders. Ghost seems dismayed that their older sibling has managed to accumulate more than them, working harder at creating space for the critters to land. Hornet watches them leisurely, expertly braiding a few flower stems together in her claws. 

Soon, the Knight can feel the familiar pangs of hunger gnawing at their mind. Before, it was a thing of pain and torture. They starved inside the Temple. Now, however, Hornet is glad to provide something for them to eat. Gently, they nudge her shoulder to get her attention.

“You’re hungry?” A nod. “Not an issue. We can begin heading back to make something to eat. Ghost?”

Ghost looks over, now also completely swathed in maskflies. 

“I’m sorry, little one, but we should get going.”

Ghost seems like they are going to be stubborn for a moment, before flapping their arms and causing an uprising of maskflies. The creatures rise in a swarm, even leaving Hollow’s shoulders and head, flying upwards into the canopy.

Hornet giggles as the Knight cranes their head upwards to watch them flitter away. “Let’s get going, before it gets too late. Ghost, I _suppose_ I can carry you, this time. Hollow’s busy with all the flowers you picked.”


End file.
